[CyberKitten]

I don't think your cat could and I emphasize the word COULD as in it is a possibility, I KNOW your cat and you and your daughters could indeed develop a parasitic illness due to these parasites if they are passed to you from the dog. Since they are so difficult to diagnose, the best treatment is prevention and this means washing your hands and making certain the dog - if he still being cared for by your vet (have all the parasites been destroyed??0 - to be extra careful in touching him and his things. how old are your daughters? If they are little, it might be helpful to be extra cautious in how they handle the dog.

I do not want to scare you - and many of these illnesses can be rare - BUT I know if this were my pet, I would be taking every precaution. Even if my cats came into contact with a pet with roundworm, I would have them at the vet asap, even though they have been dewormed. If you have only had this calico for 3 days, do you know her history? has she been dewormed by a vet - usually it is done more than once. I am unclear now that you say the cat came after the dog - was she there when the dog was around? Does she play with him? Certainly, she must sniff him. Hopefully, she is an indoor cat only and that will prevent some of the problems. (I do not believe in allowing my cats or dogs to roam and I think that is quickly becoming the norm where I love, thankfully, in my neighbourhood anyway, less so in certain areas) You can contain the problem if the cat is not outside, thus avoiding the contamination of other animals - same for the dog. He may have picked it up from some other animal.

Parasites have little to do with anyone being unclean. They are opportunistic. They move in where they can, whether a person/pet is super clean or not. Prevention does though - ie hand washing and so forth. If you do not want to take your cat to the vet (tho it's still a good idea where you have had for 3 days- it is always wise to isolate any new animal in the home until you have him or her vetted!) , you could take a sample of her feces to the vet or watch her carefully and check her litter box often. Clean it with GLOVES so you yourself are not at risk and do not allow her to urinate or excrete outside. That's never a good practice anyway - and is actually not clean. Think of what your pet is bringing back in! Actually parasites are one of the dangers for pets outside - even if they are dewormed.

I can only tell you if this was my dog - and I have had dogs (have 4 cats currently - he would not be the only one at the vet. And I would probably test myself and children for the presence of this horrid thing. I think you would know if your daughters develop it but it is always good to check. I am have a compromised immune system - despite being an oncologist, I ironically just competed chemo for melanoma myself so I am at risk for these kind of opportunistic illness - which are sometimes what lead to death for cancer patients. Most healthy adults can easily fight roundworms most of the time.

The problem is in small children and people with suppressed immune systems, the roundworms are not killed instantly, and can migrate. It doesn't happen that frequently but never take chances! Sometimes they can migrate up into the various organs, as noted above. I would treat the cat as if s/he has been exposed until you know for certain and ensure the children do NOT play with the litter!! (I still do not know the age of your daughters so it is hard to answer your question - you did not say...)

Too, the eggs do not become active until they have been in the environment for about 2 weeks, so while that may decrease the risk of contracting roundworms, it also means you need to watch the dog and cat after that period. (and your daughters - if they are young children?)

Larry Glickman, a Purdue University zoonosis expert, developed a diagnostic test to detect the dog roundworm parasite in people. (It actually has another name in people but I can't reacll it offhand- I'd have to look it up. I do not see it every day, only when I am sent children someone assumes have cancer and it is a differential diagnosis) Eye doctors and the CDC now use Larry G's test to confirm it - ah ---larva migrans - it just came to me, lol. A slightly different test is used for diagnosing raccoon roundworm,- which often infects animals allowed to roam.

Through his studies Glickman has determined that dog roundworm infects between 5 percent and 20 percent of children at some time in their lives. Fortunately, few suffer permanent damage but those who do can develop very serious illnesses and since prevention is so simple, it is always wise to take those measures.